Michelle Styles:

Yesterday was the Swoon with Boon event at the Stockton Central Library to help celebrate the refurbishment of the library. The library looks wonderful with the books in pride of place. The other speaker was the great Sara Craven.  Sara's first book was published in 1976. She had been a journalist in Stockton before that but now lives in the Midlands.
When I was  at university, and later when I first came to the UK, Sara was one of my go to authors. There was just something about her heroes. So it was a fantastic opportunity for me to hear her speak and generally chat with her.
Sara Craven is wonderfully witty and the entire evening was a joy.
Given how much I love my editor, I now know to be worried if she takes me out somewhere really and truly posh as according to Sara they tend to do that when you are being shifted to another editor. Although her last lunch with her editor was at the Ivy, just because. She currently adores her editor and was more than a bit apprehensive but her editor soon put her at ease.
I loved hearing about Alan Boon and her first editor, the legendary Frances Whitehead, and the past as well as her extensive reading list as a child. It somewhat mirrored my own. Sara chose her pen name (in those days most M&B authors had pen names plus she was a journalist) in part because of her deep love for The Secret Garden.  I happen to love this book and one of the reasons we bought our current house was the garden gave me the feel of a secret garden, waiting to be brought to life again.
Several in the audience said that they had never read a M&B, although their mother in laws were avid readers and because of the talk, they were now tempted to have a go. One lady was very intrigued by my Vikings.
I came back home thoroughly refreshed and ready to really push forward with my current Viking.

I'm at Barbara Vey's 4th anniversary bash today! A signed copy of  Breaking the Governess's Rules is up for grabs along with  6 e-readers and 68 other books from other historical and contemporary authors and assorted items. Please join in the fun and leave a comment.

My talk in Walker Library went well. A cozy group of dedicated Mills and Boon readers. One of the librarians also volunteers at the local theatre so they had costumes set up to illustrate my books. They had also done a display of my titles.  All in all a very pleasant evening. (I do have photos and will get them up)

Monday night will see me in Amble with another Girls Night In. Then my speaking will be done for awhile.

I am giving two library talks for International Women's Day. The theme of the day is enpowerment through education so I am going to talk about how the romance genre empowers women. I am also going to discuss my writing and how I do it.
They are on 8 March 2-4 Denton Burn Library and 10 March 6-8 Walker Library.

You can find out more info here.

One of my BIG problems with food is that I am a mindless grazer. Bad habit. I tend just get a handful of something because handfuls don't really count. Or not enough to matter. This is particularly true when I am working and the words are not coming.  Of course handfuls count. And eating standing up doesn't burn more calories either.
Jillian Michaels makes the point in her book (and it is not rocket science) a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It is simply a unit of measure. And even if something does not seem to have many calories per serving size, eat enough of them and your daily calorie count gets blown sky high.
She gives the example of a client of hers who used the spray I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. The client was going through a can a day. When she was challenged, the client exclaimed but the serving portion info says no calories. A can has 900 calories. A serving size was a quick spray. She was using a lot more!
It would be far better for me to schedule my snacks and to sit down to eat them.
She also is an advocate of metabolic typing for determining the type of diet you should follow. It turns out that I am a fast oxidizer or that I am insulin responsive. It means if I take niacin on an empty stomach, I get a bright red flush. (Been there, done it) Fast oxidizers from my reading around the subject are more likely to get type 2 diabetes. Glucose enters the blood stream more readily as it were. This is why going over to a diet which limits carbs to low GI carbs and makes sure I have protein at every meal works for me. It also means I should have scheduled snacks instead of mindless grazing. And make sure that I don't skip meals and that I eat every 4 hours.
The theory of oxidation also explains why not all diets work for every one. Know your oxidation rate in general terms and you can plan your diet better so you are less likely to fail. Slow oxidisers should have carbs at every meal and go for lighter proteins. Balanced oxidisers should go for -- a balance.
Everything kept within calorie limits.
And I am one of the UNLUCKY people who gain weight all over rather than putting it on my top half or my bottom. When you gain weight all over, it means even your feet can become fat! (Yes my shoes now fit better) In theory I am an hourglass shape. Knowing what shape you are helps. It means you can look at pictures of the appropriate stars. For example, Marilyn Monroe was pear shaped. People who are apple shaped can end up looking like Barbie or a Gibson Girl.
Hourglass I think is Betty Grable. at the ideal. People can look good no matter their basic shape is. But knowing your shape can help.
Two days of not mindlessly grazing and the weight is starting to drop off. Which is good. Not getting discouraged is important.

In other news:
My editor phoned yesterday. I should be doing a couple of library talks in March for International Women's Day. More details when I have them.